So back in March, Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny published a big investigation into Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, accusing him of creating a "corruption empire."

The video quickly became infamous in Russia, gaining 22 million views on YouTube.

The video mentions Alisher Usmanov, billionaire and co-owner of Russian internet company Mail.ru. He is accused in the video of bribing the prime minister with a huge amount of property, under the guise of charitable gifts. According to the BBC, Medvedev has dismissed these allegations as "nonsense."

The allegations provoked protests in late March, with thousands of people taking to the streets.

Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

In April, Usmanov announced he would sue Navalny for accusing him of criminal activity. In mid-May, the trial began, with Usmanov pushing for the video from March to be taken down, arguing it is a violation of his honor.

On the same day the trial began, Usmanov published a video response to Navalny on VK, Russia's largest social network — which he partly owns. In the video, Usmanov calls out Navalny, asking if he pays his taxes.

YouTube

Navalny then published another video, saying he would answer these questions soon.

Usmanov's video message proved popular, resulting in over 3 million views and a load of memes.

In mid-May, Usmanov once again posted on VK, this time to announce a challenge — he will award a free iPhone 7 and a T-shirt with his autograph to the person who comes up with the best meme about his video.

VK

People got super into it. They made sticker packs and reaction memes and spread these across multiple social networks.

Winner #1:

Winner #2:

Winner #3:

VK

"Checkmate, loser!"

Thousands of people in Russia gathered in cities and towns across the country on Monday for a day of nationwide anti-corruption protests organized by Navalny. However, hours ahead of the demonstrations, Navalny was detained from his apartment building

According to the BBC, the government granted permission for demonstrations in 169 locations throughout Russia. There were plans to broadcast the events live on Navalny's YouTube channel.

Navalny had received permission to hold protests in Moscow's Sakharova Avenue, but on Sunday evening, he changed plans and asked people to gather at Tverskaya Street in central Moscow, near the Kremlin, resulting in confusion across the country, and his eventual detention.

Russia holds its next presidential election next March, in which President Vladimir Putin is expected to run for a new six-year term. Navalny has announced his intention to run as a candidate in the election, even though his conviction in an embezzlement case — which he says is Kremlin's attempt to sabotage him — will likely bar him from running.

CORRECTION

Jun. 13, 2017, at 14:55 PM

This story cites BBC article about Medvedev, in which he says claims about him made by Navalny were "nonsense." A previous version of this article misattributes this quote.